Press Release: The Daily Mile Foundation announces a partnership with Imperial College London and INEOS…

THE DAILY MILE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES A PARTNERSHIP WITH IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON AND INEOS TO UNDERTAKE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH ON THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF THE DAILY MILE INITIATIVE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN.

The benefits of The Daily Mile have already been acknowledged by teachers, parents and initial research.

Imperial College to bring together a new research partnership which aims to extend existing evidence on the long-term impact of The Daily Mile initiative.

The three-year research project by Imperial College London’s team will be supported by INEOS.

The Daily Mile and Imperial College London have announced a collaborative research partnership at the children’s “GO Run London” event at Battersea Park, London. The three-year project will delve deeper into the benefits of The Daily Mile to analyse the long-term impact on primary school children.

This study will provide the first large scale assessment, of the benefits of The Daily Mile on the health and educational achievement of pupils in primary schools across England. The study will also assess the socio-demographic profile of schools who do The Daily Mile, to explore in particular how the programme impacts schools in area of disadvantage.

Imperial College London, with the support of The Daily Mile Foundation, will aim to address two key questions: whether schools who participate in The Daily Mile have better physical health and educational attainment, and whether these improvements are sustained over primary school life.

Professor Sonia Saxena, Professor of Primary Care at Imperial College London’s School of Public Health, is the project’s principal investigator, supported by a team of researchers, co-funded by the National School for Public Health Research. The research will analyse data from a range of sources, including national data sets, such as the National Childhood Measurement Programme and information gathered from primary schools across England, to answer the research questions.

Elaine Wyllie MBE, founder of The Daily Mile said: “We’ve seen the positive impact of The Daily Mile for the 8,890 schools and nurseries across the world that are already taking part. This has been backed by initial studies and anecdotal evidence from schools worldwide. We are very excited to work with Imperial College London to really understand the physical, mental and social benefits.”

Professor Sonia Saxena of Imperial College London said: “The Daily Mile is a great example of a simple, free inclusive intervention that has built in sustainability because it has grown from grass roots. The potential lifelong health benefits of investing in daily physical activity are immense but need strong science to support its implementation. We look forward to working closely with the Foundation over the coming years.”

Peter Williams, Group Technology Director INEOS: “INEOS is delighted to support The Daily Mile in its collaboration with Imperial College. Whilst the benefits of The Daily Mile on schoolchildren are already acknowledged by teachers and others, this extensive research programme will provide a scientific understanding of these benefits and support its implementation globally.”